Egocentric video data collection jobs

What egocentric video means

In a normal video, the camera watches someone. In egocentric video, the camera is the someone. It sits at head height, or on the chest, and sees what the wearer sees: their hands, the object they are holding, the counter in front of them, the next thing they reach for.

Models that need to understand how people use their hands and move through ordinary spaces learn from footage like this. That is why the word shows up in so many research datasets, and why teams building these models need a steady supply of new, consented recordings from real homes.

The egocentric tasks GoKuna runs

First-person household tasks ask for short point-of-view clips of ordinary jobs such as cooking, tidying and laundry, filmed with a phone or action camera mounted at head height. They pay $10.00 per accepted clip and are open worldwide.

Long-form tasks ask for longer stretches of everyday life recorded from a head or chest mount, showing normal activity as it happens rather than staged scenes. They pay $20.00 per accepted hour and are open in North America to start.

Setting up the camera

The camera needs to sit where the brief says, usually at head height, and point where you look, so your hands and what they are working on stay in frame. A phone in a head mount or an action camera on a strap both do the job when the brief allows them.

Before you start a real task, record a minute of yourself doing something simple and watch it back. Check that your hands are visible, the picture is level and the light is good enough to see what you are doing. Fixing the angle once saves rejected clips later.

Privacy while you record

A first-person camera sees everything in front of you, so this matters more than in other tasks. Keep identifiable bystanders out of frame unless they have agreed. Turn letters, screens and documents away from the camera. Do not record other people's property without permission.

Only submit footage you are authorized to share, and use the preview before you upload. If something private slipped into a clip, record it again rather than hoping it passes.

Making a clip that passes review

Start recording a moment before the activity begins and stop a moment after it ends, so the clip shows the whole job. Keep your head movements slow; fast turns blur the picture. Work where there is enough light to see your hands clearly.

Check the clip length and file size against the brief before you upload. If your camera records very large files, lower the resolution to one the brief accepts rather than trimming the activity short.

Review and pay

Each clip is reviewed by a person against the brief. You get an email when your upload arrives and another with the decision, usually within 24 hours. Accepted clips earn the reward shown when you reserved the task. Rejected clips come with a reason, and you can record a new one while the task is open.

Payment goes through Stripe to your own verified bank account. You set up payouts once, there is no minimum payout and no fee, and a sent payment usually reaches your bank within a few business days.

How to start

Sign in with your email, confirm you are 18 or older, enter your country and agree to only submit media you are authorized to share. Open first-person tasks, their mounting instructions and their rewards are listed once you are signed in.

Read the whole brief before you reserve. It tells you the clip length, the file size and formats accepted, and how many places are left, so you only commit time to a task you can complete.

Can I record egocentric video with just a phone?

Yes, when it is mounted at head height as the brief describes. Household tasks accept a phone or an action camera.

Can other people be in the room?

Only if they have agreed to be filmed. Otherwise keep them out of frame, or record when you have the space to yourself.

Do I have to show my face?

No. The camera looks out from your point of view, so the footage shows your hands and surroundings, not your face.

Is egocentric video work available where I live?

First-person household tasks are open worldwide. Long-form recording is open in North America to start. Each brief shows where it applies before you reserve it.

Who uses the footage?

Accepted clips are used to train and evaluate machine learning models, including on behalf of GoKuna's customers. You keep ownership and grant a licence for that use.